Production of functional innovative ingredients from paper and agro-food side-streams through sustainable and efficient tailor-made biotechnological processes for food, feed, pharma and cosmetics

Agro-food and Paper mill side streams and by-products are sources of unexploited organic fractions exploitable into safe microbial biomasses, functional ingredients and intermediates, e.g. prebiotics, pre-fermented ingredients, bioplastics and chemicals. The INGREEN bio-based ingredients/materials will be used to produce innovative functional products for food, feed, packaging, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic sectors. The INGREEN outcomes will be obtained by validated tailor made biotechnologies based on safe microorganisms or eco-friendly approaches. Logistics and storage conditions will be optimized to favor the flow from feedstock to the bio-based prototype producers. INGREEN aims to demonstrate in industrial environments the efficiency and sustainability of the target biotechnologies to produce i) lactobionic acid (LBA), galactooligosaccharides (GOS), microbial safe biomasses from whey; ii) polyhydrohyalkanoates (PHA) enriched biomasses and purified PHA, as prebiotics and bioplastics respectively, from paper mill wastewater; iii) functional pre-fermented ingredients from rye/wheat milling fractions. Safe and characterized INGREEN ingredients will be used for innovative functional cheeses, bakery products and nutritious feeds. Functional GOS, LBA and pre-fermented bran will be used to produce prebiotic immune-stimulating gel, nutraceutical supplement and cleanser for human health. INGREEN biodegradable material will be valorised into bag in box to boost INGREEN fluid prototype sustainability. Prototype safety, shelf-life, quality and functional performances will be compared to benchmarks. Also LCA/LCC, sound business cases and plans and compliance with REACH and any relevant EU safety legislation will be applied over the whole project to assess prototype benefits compared to benchmarks. INGREEN product specifications will contribute to define/standardize the regulatory requirements for outcome innovation deals, market uptake and societal acceptance.